It is an audacious notion in this age of science and willful determination that one’s existence is somehow inspired, guided, and even managed by unseen forces outside our control. Whether called fate, synchronicity, or the hand of God, slender threads are at work brining coherence and continuity to our lives. Over time they weave a remarkable tapestry.  Jerry Ruhl considers the role of synchronicity as well as rational planning in shaping contemporary life. What are these slender threads? Being in a particular place at just the right time, meeting someone who steers you in an unforeseen direction, the unexpected appearance of work, money or inspiration. Such patterns give meaning to our experiences. In our modern culture we’re pretending with tremendous skill and deception we are not all that – not the obverse pattern, not the loose threads, and not the connecting links between what is apparent and what is not. Once you recognize the power of the invisible threads you can stop worrying about trying to control everything. This gives life an intensity, a sense of safety, and less worry — if you can learn to carry on these two perspectives at once. In one-dimensional awareness we leave out of everyday consciousness two essential things: 1) Amazing beauty and, 2) a very deep thing, our identity with the total process of being.

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